World

Greek island on 'verge of explosion' with thousands of refugees stuck in limbo

The first point of entry for thousands of refugees and migrants pouring into Europe is the Greek island of Lesbos, but rather than finding hope and safety on the island, those who arrive are finding themselves in dire conditions that are quickly unravelling.

The UN and Greek authorities brought in additional staff on Tuesday to scale up the process of dealing with nearly 25,000 people who are stranded on the island.

An abandoned football stadium has been turned into a makeshift processing center, and ferries are arriving to take those stranded to Athens.

So far this year, 367,902 refugees and migrants have arrived by sea in Europe, with 244,855 of those making their way to the continent through Greece, according to UN Refugee agency UNHCR. The majority of those who arrive in the country land on Greece's eastern islands, which are ill-equipped to deal with the large numbers as the country struggles with its own economic crisis.

Refugees are finding themselves in Lesbos for weeks on end, with no official reception center that can handle the huge influx of people onto the relatively small island.

Every public space has become home to makeshift camps filled with people sleeping rough in the open, with no access to aid or the most basic necessities.

According to aid groups on the ground, sanitation and hygiene conditions in the transit camps and in the city of Mytilini itself are quickly growing dire as tensions rise on the island.

But local authorities have been unable to deal with the huge influx of people, and refugees camping out in the island's main port have encountered violence and limited aid.

On Monday, fire and riots broke out at the Kara Tepe transit camp on the island. Nationalist protesters also took to the streets of Mytilini on Monday and scuffled with refugees and migrants camped there.

International Rescue Committee (IRC), which is providing aid on the island, said there are anywhere from 17,000 to 25,000 people stuck on Lesbos, with thousands more arriving daily. There is currently no system in place, or capacity, to receive them. There is need for a transit center in the north to alleviate the suffering of every refugee landing on the island.

"Failure to recognize the severity of this situation has allowed it to reach a point where we are truly in the midst of a humanitarian disaster," said Kirk Day, the International Rescue Committee’s Field Director on Lesbos. "None of these things can be addressed with this many people here, and the backlog has become so enormous that even the best of systems will not be able to catch up."

Day encouraged Greek authorities to move people off the island immediately.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.